


The Horsemen's Biggest Fan

by WendyMcTorry



Category: Now You See Me (Movies)
Genre: 2 smut scenes... you're welcome, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Lots of drama, My character's affect on the plot, Now You See Me 2 Spoilers, Started this because I love J. Daniel Atlas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-06
Updated: 2016-07-06
Packaged: 2018-07-21 20:43:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7403596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WendyMcTorry/pseuds/WendyMcTorry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lily is J. Daniel Atlas' biggest fan! She's pretty well in love with him before even meeting him. Lucky for her, after their Queens show, she runs into Danny himself. Lily ends up joining them, training under the Horsemen for a year, and helping them out with their next assignment from the Eye a year later. Amongst all this is a lot of drama between Daniel and Lily arising due to the fact he doesn't feel the same way. I'm a huge Now You See Me and J. Daniel Atlas fan, so if you like both of those, I have a feeling you'll love this, too! It's long, but give it a shot!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meeting the Horsemen

It was my first night in Las Vegas. I was always a fan of magic, and I'd even read up on it. I knew about the Eye, the Four Horsemen from the Egyptian legend, everything. So, when I heard about this new group of magicians known as The Four Horsemen, obviously, I knew they knew about the Eye. I was never very talented as a magician, but I loved to watch those who were. When the Four Horsemen had their first show, I knew I had to go. So, I dragged my best friend, Eva, along, and we flew to Vegas. 

I was in awe as I saw J. Daniel Atlas for the first time. In his pictures he was super attractive, but when I saw him in person, my jaw dropped wide open. The only thing more attractive than his face was his voice. I knew, on the surface, that the tricks he was doing with Merritt, Henley, and Jack couldn't be real. Henley didn't really float inside a bubble, there was science behind it, just like the bunny in a box trick. But nevertheless, I was still in absolute awe at how they did things. The money I collected from their first show allowed me to buy a ticket to their second. The money I got in their second show allowed me to see them at their third. Unfortunately, I didn't get reimbursed for my third trip because fake money fell from the sky that time. I still kept it, because it had their faces on it. 

Some people saw the Four Horsemen as villains who stole from a bank, a millionaire, etc. But I believed they were doing what they were doing for the good of others. Like the group of magicians said, all they wanted was to bring a little magic to the world. Daniel brought a lot of magic to mine.

I saw all of their tricks from all three of their shows, then suddenly, they disappeared after jumping off a building. That's what they wanted you to think, they actually escaped by ground. But, as I predicted, the escape wasn't easy. The Horsemen were chased by the FBI. They ran trough the disguise of the crowd, and coincidently, right into me. 

"Sorry." I heard J. Daniel Atlas say after knocking me to the ground. He offered me his hand and I took it. He helped me up, and I was speechless. He brought his finger to his lips and smiled as he shushed me. One look at me, and he could tell I was a big fan, and he was in danger of me revealing him. 

"I'm coming with you." I said as I tightened my grip on his hand. 

"No, no, you can't do th--" 

"Come on, you're being chased by the FBI, no time to lose." I started running in the direction Daniel was originally going. I figured I'd use some distraction of my own to get my way. I couldn't believe I was not only holding J. Daniel Atlas' hand, but running from the FBI with him. 

I looked around as we escaped and saw Henley, Merritt, and Dylan Rhodes, the FBI agent in charge of the case. However, despite the fact he was trying to catch the Horsemen, he looked more like he was trying to escape with them. I still couldn't believe I was running alongside the Four Horsemen! 

Eventually, we arrived at a restaurant and hopped in a car that was parked there. 

"Wait, what do you think you're doing?" Atlas asked as I tried to follow Henley into the car. 

"I said I'm coming with you." I smiled. 

"You can't. We gotta go, you gotta stay." Daniel held me back as the rest of the team entered the car. 

"Please? Can't I stay with you guys a little longer?" 

"Let her come. We have to go, now, and we don't have time to reason with her." Dylan ordered, and Daniel finally let me get in the car. 

"It'll be nice to have another girl traveling with us. It's nice to meet you…" Henley began as she shook my hand. 

"Lily. Lily Glade." I beamed. 

"Dylan, any particular reason you let this stranger in our vehicle?" Daniel frowned at the former FBI agent. 

"Like I said, we didn't have time to reason with her." Dylan shrugged, clearly lying. 

"I'm stronger than her, I could've dealt with her in two seconds. You've got something up your sleeve, and we need to know what it is. You weren't our leader until five minutes ago, and we need explanations on everything, starting with this." 

"Alright, alright. There's a very, very minor thing that I need someone who can't be traced back to us to help with." Dylan finally explained. 

"What thing? I didn't know we had more orders." Merritt stated. 

"Yeah, I just recently got them, but we were too busy with this plan. Now that it's finished, we can focus on this next plan." 

"And you want me to help?" I laughed.

"Well, we'll have to do a thorough background check to make sure you're really in the clear, but yeah. We need a fresh face nobody will associate with us." Dylan said. 

"What do I have to do?" I asked.

"It's very simple. Just distracting a guard. Distraction is generally a strong suit for magicians, but in this case, we're too famous. After this, there's a chance the FBI will put prices on our heads. At the very least, we'll have cash rewards for information on us by morning. Anyone who sees us will be tempted to call the police, and we can't count on everyone being big enough fans to break the law for us. But someone who flew from Canada to see us, and ran away from the FBI with us, is probably willing to do so. Are you?" 

"Absolutely!" I beamed. "So this means I get to stay with you? For good?" 

"Only if you're found out." Dylan finished. "If you're associated with us, we'll take responsibility for either training you to be one of us, or finding you a safe place to relocate to. But if nobody knows you're with us, we'll simply send you home." 

"And how did you know I flew here to see you?" 

"Magic." Dylan winked at me. 

"No, not really. You're wearing Canadian Flag earrings" Atlas corrected him. 

"Speaking of magic, though. Agent Dylan Rhodes of the FBI. I really did not see this coming." Henley began.

"Me, neither. But they always say the person you're looking for is the person you least suspect." Merritt added. 

"One way or another, let's just get to Central Park. We've got a good friend who will, with any luck, be waiting for us."

"JACK!" I exclaimed. "It's Jack, isn't it!? He's alive, isn't he!? I knew it! I knew with how smart everyone was, Jack couldn't be dead!" 

"Surprise, surprise." Merritt chuckled. 

I jumped out of the car as soon as it stopped at Central Park. 

"Damn it, it's locked." I said after shaking the gate. When the Horsemen arrived, my eyes had adjusted enough to see a figure on the other side of the gates. "Jack Wilder?" 

The figure stepped back. 

"Jack, it's fine, we're all here." Daniel glared at me for almost making Jack run away. "We brought a crazed fangirl, too."

"I am not crazed." I hissed at Daniel. 

"You scared me." Jack chuckled at me. "I thought my cover was blown. Don't tell anyone I'm alive, okay?" 

"Will do! Or… won't do, I guess." I chuckled. 

"Mind helping us out with that, mr. 'nothing's ever locked'." Merritt asked. 

"Glad you were paying attention, Merritt." Jack laughed as he unlocked the gate. 

I felt so special, being part of their group, even if I wasn't really a Horseman. 

After picking up Jack, we went back to their hideout. 

"So, what's the plan?" Atlas asked. 

"You guys are going to train. I'll tell you all about it closer to the date." Dylan said. "In the mean time, Lily, you should call home and tell them you're leaving for a while. Our plan doesn't take place for another year." 

"And there's nothing you can tell us about it?" Henley crossed her arms, very upset. 

"I can tell you what I know. Which is, there's someone corrupt who rose to power a while ago. They faked their death to try to control things. We're exposing them next year at a big gig they have planned." 

"Well who is it?" Merritt asked. 

"I don't know. The Eye hasn't told me yet, either." 

"And we're just supposed to trust you?" Jack asked. 

"Look what happened last time you did. Everything went according to plan, you guys are famous, and now you're part of the Eye. You guys got everything you wanted by listening to Dylan last time. Why not trust him again?" I said. I got looks from the five of them. They weren't exactly nice looks. They were more of a 'mind your own business' kind of look. 

That set the stage for an five months of me feeling very left out. I clearly didn't belong here, I knew no magic. I tried to hang out with them, but I mostly felt invisible amongst a group of close knit friends. Even when I was training one-on-one with everyone, I felt like a burden. But I stayed, because I had a job to do. 

Daniel noticed I wasn't the same person he met in Queens anymore. 

"What do we do? She's probably thinking about leaving. She's probably homesick, too. Lily's going to leave, and this will have been a waste." Daniel worried. 

"Leave?" Henley chuckled. "No. Not a chance." 

"Why not?" Jack asked, feeling the same way Daniel did. He thought I would leave.

"She's totally in love with Danny. It shouldn't take a mentalist like Merritt to see it." Henley explained. "Do you boys not pay attention to the way she looks at Danny? Especially that first night?" 

"Alright, then. Looks like I'll have to give her a reason to stay." Daniel smiled, finally feeling in control of things again. 

"Danny, no." Henley ordered. "If you fake-like her, and she finds out, she really will be gone."

"She's going to leave either way." Daniel thought. 

"I think she'll leave, but this is still wrong. Danny, don't do it." Jack agreed with Henley.

"Guys, she's never done anything like this before. We shouldn't even have trusted a stranger with something this big from the start. She's already unhappy here, and as soon as the stress of what she has to do hits her, she'll be gone. Unless I give her a reason to stay."

"I'm telling you not to. Don't toy with people's emotions, Danny. That's just about the worst thing you can do. That poor girl has given up five months of her life for us. Are you honestly going to repay her with lies?"

Daniel didn't answer that right away. He didn't like the idea of tricking me, but it had to be done. There were five months of hard work hanging by a threat, and Daniel had to save it. 

"I have to do this. There is no other option. Now you can either help me, or if she finds out because I was doing this alone, you'll only have yourselves to blame."

"Fine." Jack reluctantly sighed. 

"But only because you can't be reasoned with. And we tell her after the job is done." Merritt stated his condition. 

"Okay." Henley finally agreed as well.


	2. Dan's Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel puts his plan to make Lily stay into action, and gets a little help from Jack. Will Lily play into Daniel's hand or will she stand her ground against Jack?

The next day, Daniel set is plan in motion. Jack was teaching me how to throw cards again, and I was so close. 

"It's all about the flick of the wrist." Jack reminded me. He showed me how to throw it again, but my cards never got as far as his did. "Here, let me help." 

Jack came up behind me and took my hand into his. He guided my arm through the motions, and the card went further than ever. 

"Alright!" I smiled. "Let me try that again." 

Jack stepped back, but the card didn't go as far as it did last time without Jack there. Daniel had been watching all of this, waiting for his chance to swoop in. 

"That's okay. Here, let me show you again." Jack was on his way to walk up behind me again, but Daniel stopped him. 

"Jack, let me take it from here." Daniel stepped between us. I didn't know what to do. Jack was the master sleight of hand, why did Daniel want to do it. 

"Jack, take over for Danny here in the kitchen." Henley called. 

"Great, now the mother hen needs me to cook. If your food is poisoned, you can only blame yourself, Atlas." Jack scoffed as he left. 

"I'll be fine, I've got a resilient stomach." Daniel didn't even look back. "Jack said the trick is in the wrist, and he's right, but he didn't elaborate enough. It's kind of like a swish and flick motion." 

I couldn't help but giggle. 

"Copyright infragment. That's straight out of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone." I laughed. 

"Well, Hogwarts was a school for magic, after all. It may be fictional, but we can still learn from it." Daniel smiled as he took my hand in his. "Swish and flick." 

The card went even farther than it had when Jack helped me. The motion felt different, too. 

"Give it a try. But don't blow up the card or anything, we only have fifty-two of those." Daniel joked. 

"No promises." I chuckled back. When I used the swish and flick, it actually worked. "I did it!" 

"Great job." Daniel smiled and put a hand on my shoulder as congratulations. 

"Thanks…" I blushed. Dan knew he was getting exactly what he wanted. 

"Alright, give it another go." 

I tried it about ten more times, improving constantly. I had it down pat within half an hour. 

"Awesome progress today, Lily." Daniel praised me when we were done for the day. 

"Thanks! And awesome teaching." I was very awkward, but he took it as a good sign, even if I didn't know it. 

Over that month, I felt more at home. All of a sudden, I felt like I got closer and closer to belonging there. I got more comfortable with the group because I didn't feel like a hindrance anymore. 

"So, what's going on with you and Daniel." Jack nudged me and winked. I couldn't help but blush. 

"Nothing!" I assured him. I wasn’t lying, neither of us had made any moves. 

"That's a big fat lie. I can tell you like him, and that he likes you." 

"No, that's a big fat lie. Daniel likes Henley, not me." 

Jack took a minute to process that before bursting out laughing. 

"You are so wrong." He chuckled. "You should've seen them before you came along. You should hear the stories about when Henley was Danny's assistant. Then, you'd know how much they hate each other." 

"Couples fight." 

"They were never a couple." 

"You expect me to believe that? Come on, Jack. Open your eyes!" 

"You open yours. Danny likes you, and he couldn't care less about Henley." 

"Do you not see the way Daniel looks at Henley?" 

"Yeah, I do, and it's pretty well always a glare." 

"I think we're going to have to agree to disagree." 

"Unless we ask Danny himself." 

"I swear, Jack, if you say one syllable about me to Daniel, I'll shave your head with your own throwing cards."

"I'll make it sound like it was all my idea. Because, you know, it kind of was." 

"Jack, please don't. I don't think I could deal with the awkwardness if you're wrong and I'm right, but you tell Daniel anyway." 

"So you're just not going to tell him? You're not even going to try win him? Don't you care about him?" 

"Of course I do, I really do." I assured Jack. "But he's J. Daniel Atlas. You're a fan of his, you know how awesome he is. I don't think someone that awesome could like me." 

"I think he does." 

"Just don't act on that thought, okay? Promise me you won't say a word to Daniel." 

"I don't think I can promise that." 

"Jack, please. I am begging you. Don't." 

"You'll thank me later." Jack smiled. I knew it was useless to reason with him. 

"Jack, I'll do anything. Just don't tell Daniel." 

"I won't tell him if you tell him." 

"Okay, fine. I'll tell him." I lied. 

"Nah, I don't believe you. I'm a conman, I'm good at knowing how to lie, and I can tell when someone else is" 

"I'll really tell him. If he's going to hear it, he might as well hear it from me."

"Alright!" Jack smiled, knowing he won. 

"But I hate you now. I hope you know that." 

"You'll love me again when Daniel tells you he feels the same." 

"And if he doesn't?" 

"Then I'll find a way to convince him it was all a trick. He won't know you really do like him." 

"Okay. I can live with that. That is, if you really think you can trick Daniel." 

"I'm a magician." 

"But so is he." 

"I'm a conman, too. So I think I have the edge." 

"And if you don't?" 

"Then I'll get you out of here if you want. But the chances of him not liking you and him not being able to be tricked by me are one in a trillion." 

"They'd better be, Wilder, or it's your head." I hissed as I walked away. I whispered to myself "and my heart." 

A week later, and I still hadn't done it. I had opportunities to, but I couldn't. I didn't want to ruin things. But Jack warned me he would tell him by Monday if I didn't. That was eight days from when we agreed I would. So, Sunday night, I saw Daniel watching TV all alone and went to sit by him. 

"Hey, what're you watching?" I asked. 

"Bradley's tape about our first three shows. I still can't believe they let him continue his show from jail." 

"Me, either." 

I sat there for a good five minutes, heart pounding, trying to get up the courage to say something. 

"Um… I have to tell you something… and before I do, you have to know it's all Jack's fault." 

"How bad did Wilder screw up this time?" Daniel asked, worriedly. 

"He didn't screw up. He screwed me over. Jack found something out, and he said he was going to tell you if I didn't… so… here goes…" I took a deep breath. "I like you, Daniel. And I know you don't like me back, I know you like Henley, but Jack said he'd tell you if I didn't say it myself. It was my only option." 

Daniel smiled at me, and my heart melted. I already felt relieved, even though I hadn't heard his answer. 

"I like you, too. Why would you think I like Henley?"

"Wait…. You like me, too? Really?" 

"I do. You're a really fun person, and your happy-go-lucky attitude is contagious."

"You're not just trying to spare my feelings? Or Jack didn't tell you anyway and bribe you to lie?" 

"No, I really do like you." Daniel moved across the couch closer to me. I'd never liked a guy this much, and I almost stopped breathing just because of how close he was. This has been a fairy tale. And now it was the ultimate fairy tale. Daniel cupped my cheek in one hand and put the other on my waist as he kissed me. After the initial shock wore off, I wrapped my arms around his neck. "Do you… do you want to go up to my room?" 

I panicked. Daniel was five years older than me, and I knew exactly what he wanted, but it was exactly what I was afraid of. 

"I'm sorry, but I'm just not ready for… that." 

"Oh no, we don't have to do anything. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pressure you. We can just talk and fall asleep, or whatever you want to do." 

"Okay then. Let's go." I smiled as I took his hand and we went up to his room. Daniel and I cuddled in his bed and laughed and talked until we fell asleep. It was the best night I'd ever had. And I couldn't believe it actually happened in the morning.


	3. Heartbreak and Humiliation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Atlas' plan may have been a success, but that doesn't mean it'll stay that way forever. Lily found out Daniel tricked her, and the poor girl was devastated and disgusted. Oh, and Henley leaves.

I woke up beside J. Daniel Atlas. 

"Morning." Daniel smiled as he kissed my neck, realising I was awake. 

"Morning." I beamed back as I turned to face him and kiss him. 

Jack was in the living room when Daniel and I walked down there together. 

"Well, well, well. I don't mean to ruin your moment, but I told you so. I was right, you were wrong, as per usual." Jack laughed. 

"You were right, and I was wrong. And thank you, Jack." I gave him a quick hug. 

"See? I even told you that you'd thank me later." 

"I guess I owe you a thank you, too, Jack." Daniel didn't like to admit it. But he owed Jack. Just not for what I thought he owed Jack for. Everyone opposed Daniel's plan. But they knew he'd do it anyway, and if he was going to do it, they'd help him do it right so my pain and suffering wasn't for nothing. 

"You guys are welcome." 

The next couple of months went awesome as well. Daniel and I got closer, too. Until one day, Henley announced she was leaving. 

"What do you mean 'leaving?'. You can't do that." Merritt objected. 

"I'm sick and tired of hearing 'wait, the Eye has a plan. Just be patient.'. It's been eight months, and nada. I'm not going to waste any more of my life waiting for something that's just never going to happen." 

To me, that last sentence didn't sound like she was talking about the Eye. It sounded like she was talking about Daniel. It sounded like she loved him, but he loved me. 

"Henley, wait." I begged. "Can I talk to you alone for a minute?"

We went up to my room. 

"Is this about Daniel?" I asked. "I always thought he liked you, but then he told me he liked me. I never thought you liked him, though. Until you said 'I'm not going to waste any more of my life waiting for something that's just never going to happen'. Are you waiting for Daniel to fall for you? Do you have feelings for him?" 

Henley couldn't take it anymore. I was so sweet, so caring, and they were all abusing me. 

"This has nothing to do with Danny." Henley assured me. "You were wrong about him liking me, and you are right about me not liking him. What I said didn't have any ulterior meaning. I'm just sick of wasting years of my life waiting. I don't want to have one show and then hide for another year and a half. This is becoming a pattern, and I'm not falling into it. It's just not worth it." 

"You worked so hard to get into the Eye, Henley. You're a Horsemen. You were chosen. You're Henley Reeves! You're amazing! I hate how you use your magic to make people fear for you life, but you're a talented magician. Are you really giving up the Eye?" 

"I've been debating this for two and a half months. But because of you, actually, I've realised that there is one kind of magic that really can't be explained. The only real magic in the world is love. Other things can disguise themselves as love, but I think we all know true love when we see it, but we just haven't yet. I want to find that. I want to look at someone the way you look at Daniel. And I want someone to look at me that way, too. I want to be a mom. I had my crazy wild fun young days. I made a name for myself, I had fun, and now I have lifelong friends. I'm never going to forget you, Dylan, or the Horsemen. But this part of my life is over. I'm sorry." 

"Don't be sorry, Henley. If this is truly, without a doubt, what you want, then we won't stop you. I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were giving it up. And more importantly, I wanted to make sure you weren't giving it up because of something as stupid as a guy." 

"Yeah, like I'd ever give anything up because of Danny." Henley laughed. 

And with that, we said our goodbyes. I still couldn't believe Henley wasn't a Horsemen and that she left us. I was now the only girl there, and I didn't like that much. 

The rest of that month was a little quieter and messier without Henley, but Daniel and I were still good. But at the end of that month, a little surprise slipped from Merritt and Jack

"She bought it." Merritt confirmed. "And I'm so glad she did. If she figures it out, we'll all be in deep shit." 

"Agreed." Jack sighed. "I still can't believe we did that. That we're still going along with it." 

"It's too late to back out now. Lily's in far too deep. She's pretty much in love with Danny, for reasons I can't comprehend. If she found out he never loved her, he'd be dead, and we'd be in a hospital." 

The realization didn't hit me for a second. Daniel didn't care about me. I said a lot of embarrassing stuff to him about how much I care about him, and it was ALL a ruse on his part. I let him in farther than I'd ever let anyone in, and it was all deception. Everything he ever told me was a lie, and now he knew everything about me. He probably laughed at how mushy I was and at the fact that I thought I was good enough for him.

The question was, why? What did Daniel gain by tricking me?" 

"I think the only one who's hurt in any way by this... Is me..." I could feel the tears starting up. 

"Oh my God, Lily, we can explain." Jack got up from his seat to try to comfort me, but I just stepped back. 

"No. I need to be alone right now." I said as I stormed off. 


	4. Seeking Forgiveness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel may have tricked Lily into confessing to him while he had no feelings for her, but things change. As it turns out, Daniel started to have stronger and stronger feelings for Lily. But can Lily ever trust Daniel again? Can she forgive him for lying to her and breaking her heart? Can she forgive the Horsemen for going along with it? Or will she leave, and leave her part in the next assignment to someone else?

About half an hour later, Daniel returned home. 

"Where the hell have you been, man, we've called you ten times?" Jack hissed. 

"Sorry, I ran out of batteries. What's wrong?" Daniel responded. 

"Lily overheard us talking. She knows you don't love her, and that we went along with it." Merritt got straight to the point." 

"Where is she?" Daniel panicked, worried about me. 

"She said she wanted to be alone and left." 

"Did she take any of her things?" 

"No."

"Then we still have time, she hasn't left us for good yet. I need to make things right. I may not have had feelings for her when I started this, but now I do. I can't have her go on thinking I don't care about her." 

Daniel ran out of the apartment with Jack's phone, hoping I might answer the call if it wasn't from him. But I ignored it. I had been swinging at the playground for about twenty minutes by the time Daniel left, crying and beating myself and Daniel up simultaneously. I didn't want to go back there, not now anyway. But it was two in the morning, and it was cold. Two hours after Daniel left, he found me at the playground. 

"Thank God you're okay." Daniel smiled as he ran up to hug me. I pushed away on my swing and kicked him in the stomach as I swung forward. 

"Go away. I'm sure everyone told you, so you'll understand why I don't want to talk to you right now." 

"I deserved that." Daniel got back up, looking not just physically hurt. I almost believed he cared about me again, but I had to remind myself what a great actor he was. "If you don't want to talk to me, then just listen. I really do care about you. It's true, when I first told you I liked you, I didn't. But you grew on me, and now I do. I thought you were going to leave, and the five months we spent training you would be wasted. I thought we would never have enough time to train someone new, so we had to keep you. And when I thought you wanted to leave, this was the only thing I could think of to stop you. And now, I want you to stay more than ever, and for a whole other reason, too." 

"So you did all of this for the plan? You used me, Daniel." 

"I know. If there was any other way, I would've taken it. But it brought us together." 

"No, it didn’t. It just made me think we were close. What do you really think of me, Daniel? To you, I'm just some crazed fangirl you need to distract a guard, aren't I? You've probably laughed at how easily you wrapped me around your finger, didn't you?"

"I never thought anything like that, I swear. I know I've lied to you. And I know that I can't give you a good reason to trust me. But if you do, I promise I'll make it up to you. I meant everything I said to you. I care about you every bit as much as I said I did. And I'm attracted to you, just like I said I was. It was really only the first few days that were a lie. After that, I started to fall for you, too." 

"I don't believe you, Daniel. I don't trust you." I held the tears back with literally everything I had. I wasn't about to let him see me cry. I had opened up a lot to Daniel, and he lied to me. "You need to go." 

"I'm taking you home. It's freezing and it's two in the morning. I don't care how much you hate me right now, I'm taking you back." 

"What?! Are you afraid I'll run away! Are you afraid I'll leave, and your precious plan will be ruined!?" 

"No," Daniel answered simply, not commenting on my raised voice. "I'm worried about you, and I care about you. I want you to be home safe. I couldn't sleep tonight if I didn't know you were okay. You'll have to remind me to beat the shit out of Jack and Merritt for letting you leave alone in a big city at nearly midnight."

Why couldn't I hate him…? After he lied to me, why did I still want him to comfort me? He's the one who hurt me, so why did I just want to have him tell me it was all okay and let me fall asleep in his arms? Did I already forgive him? Could I trust him? 

For one thing, he was J. Daniel Atlas. A known control freak who excels at deception and toyed with my emotions to make me stay when he had no feelings for me. All for the Horsemen. But for another thing, he's J. Daniel Atlas. He joined the Horsemen to bring magic to the world. He keeps telling me that he did fall for me, and only the first bit of our relationship was a lie. But could he really have feelings for someone like me, completely ordinary and not talented at magic? Daniel was everything I wanted in a person, with extra baggage. But that baggage really hurt me. It wasn't just hard to deal with, it actually hurt me. Did I pick up those bags again, risking more pain? Or did I let Daniel go, losing him when there was a chance he actually fell for me, too? 

"Okay." I agreed to go back with him. Daniel took off his winter hat and put it on my head. He also wrapped his scarf around my neck. It smelt like his cologne, and I felt so warm, comfy, and cozy in it. Daniel helped me up and wrapped his arm around my shoulder to try to keep me warm as we walked home. 

All of me, literally every fiber of my being, wanted to believe Daniel. But just because you want something doesn't mean it's the right thing. So, I came up with a plan on the walk. 

"Daniel, before we go inside, I have to tell you something." I said as we were outside the front door. 

"What is it?" 

"I'm going to stay until I've completed my task. No homesickness or boy troubles or fear or anything will ever keep me from doing this. I promise you, I won't leave until this is done. No matter what, I swear." 

"I know you won't. And I'm sorry I ever doubted you, Lily." 

"I'm not sure if I am. Because as you said, it brought us together. And as for what I said, we can change that. We don't have to let this tear us apart. If you're just continuing this lie because you need my help, tell me. For the love of everything that is good in the world, TELL ME! I won't be mad at you because you're being honest. I will stay. We can be friends. I won't let this come between us. Daniel, if you continue this lie, then you really will pass the point of no return. If I find out when you don't need me anymore that you continued to lie to me, I really won't forgive you. I really will hate you. Continuing this lie is the absolute worst case scenario. Telling me the truth, no matter how much it hurts, is the best scenario. So just tell me it. No matter what it is, I'll trust you." 

"It really is as I said. I lied to you for the first bit of our relationship, but after that, I started to have feelings for you. And the longer we're together, the more I realise I have." 

I just attack-hugged him. I was so relieved that I could be with him. That was the best part about this, we could be a couple now. I was J. Daniel Atlas' girlfriend. I was also a little relieved that he didn't laugh at me for the mushy stuff I said or didn't think I wasn't good enough for him. 

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you until now. But a combination of just finding out you lied to me and… you know, the fact that you're J. Daniel Atlas, and for those first five months, I never thought someone like you could like someone like me." 

"What do you mean?" 

"You're a famous amazing magician. And here I am, a naïve, gullible, average, girl." 

"You're a lot more than that, Lil." Daniel said, taking me in his arms for a hug. "And I wouldn't use the words naïve and gullible. I'd say you're trusting and not skeptical." 

I just nestled in closer to him. A minute or so later, we went back inside, and it was my turn to be on the receiving end of the attack-hug. 

"You're okay!" Henley beamed as she nearly suffocated me. 

"H--Henley? What are you doing here?" 

"Jack and Merritt went out to find you. They asked me to come watch the house in case you came back on your own." Henley answered. 

"I'll go call them, tell them we found you." Daniel said as he left the room. 

"I'm so sorry, Lily. I didn't want to go along with it, I told Danny how awful it was to toy with your feelings. But the guys and I went along with it because we knew he'd do it anyway. And we figured we should help him so that maybe you wouldn't find out, and your feelings could be spared. I know how stupid it was, but it's all Danny's fault." 

"I know…" I sighed. I was glad we had made up, but I still couldn't believe he tricked me in the first place. "It's alright. This was months ago. And, you're right. It was Daniel's fault. There was one thing you guys could've done though." 

"What?" 

"You could've told me beforehand. Before Daniel even had the chance to make me believe he liked me." 

"We should have thought of that…" Henley sighed. "I'm sorry." 

"It's okay." I smiled and gave Henley a hug.

"Merritt's on his way back now. He and Jack split up, and I have his phone here, so hopefully he'll come back soon to check if one of us has found you." 

Merritt came home ten minutes or so after we called him. 

"Lily, I'm so glad you're alright." Merritt smiled as he hugged me. "You scared the crap out of us. We get you needed space, but don't go to the middle of a park at two am." 

"In hindsight, that was a dangerous idea." I chuckled. "Sorry to worry you guys." 

"No, you don't have to apologise, we do. We're sorry we went along with Danny's idea. It's just--" 

"Henley explained everything. He kinda made you."

"Exactly!"

"But we made up. And he apologised and promised never to lie again. I'm giving him another chance." 

"You sure about that? I mean, it's Danny." 

"I know what you mean. But I think pretty well everyone deserves a second chance, Daniel included." 

Half an hour later, I had fallen asleep snuggling with Daniel on the couch. Jack came in and sighed in relief when he saw me. But then he cocked an eyebrow when he noticed how couple-like we looked. Jack wasn't expecting that. He wanted to apologise to me, but I was asleep. I woke up just as he was leaving the room. 

"Jack?" I asked quietly, trying not to wake up Daniel. 

"Hey, Lil." He walked back and smiled. "Thank goodness you're okay! And I'm so sorry. We never should have gone along with J. Daniel Asshole's idea. But I can explain." 

"It's okay. Henley did when she came back. It's alright. If I can give the mastermind a second chance, I can give the same to the henchmen."

"Thanks, Lil." Jack smiled, resisting the urge to reject his job as Daniel's henchman.


	5. You get kidnapped, you get kidnapped, EVERYBODY gets kidnapped!!!!!!!!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is most of the plot of Now You See Me 2, so be warned. Chase, Merritt's twin brother, was employed by Arthur Tressler's son who faked his own death. Chase kidnapped both the Horsemen and Lily by orders of his boss. The Horsemen agree to steal whatever it is Walter Tressler wants them to steal in exchange for Lily's freedom. But that doesn't sit well with Lily, who now knows some magic and feels like she should fight alongside everyone

More months came and went. A nice girl named Lula joined the group in Henley's place, and she was my new favourite girl Horseman. Eventually, it was time to go to Octa. I did my distraction job perfectly, just as everyone else did. 

"Guys, get out of here, NOW!" Dylan urgently exclaimed through the com unit. I calmly exited the building, trying to not act suspicious. Another few minutes later, Dylan spoke again. "Where is everyone?" 

"I'm just outside, Dylan." 

"And everyone else? Danny? Lula? Jack? Merritt?" 

There were no answers. 

"Lily, something's wrong, you need to go. Get as far away from here as possible, alright? Don't go back to the base. Use the emergency money and go back to your home in Canada." 

"No! I need to help! I can't leave, not when everyone's in danger!" 

"Lily, if you don't leave, you'll be in danger, too. If I need you, I'll call. If I have updates, I'll call. I just need to know that you're safe at home, alright?"

"Alright." I reluctantly agreed. I went to the airport and paced. I was too worried about my Horsemen to be calm. Where could they be? Who was responsible for their disappearance? I knew they had enemies, but the Eye should've warned them. And if these people were not on even the Eye's radar, then I had even more reason to be worried. 

"Lily! There you are!" I heard a voice say.

"Merritt!" I whirled around with a smile. Only this Merritt had hair and a pizza in his hand. He twirled the pizza box around, and the next thing I knew, I was a prisoner.

Meanwhile, Daniel and the Horsemen were just as worried about me as I was about them. 

"Guys, why are we in China?" Lula asked, very freaked out. 

"More importantly, how?" Merritt added. 

"Lily got away, right? You guys heard that, too, right?" Daniel panicked. 

"Yes, Daniel. She said she was just outside." Jack said. He didn't want to bring up the fact that if someone knew where to find them, and how to get them to China without their noticing, they definitely knew about me. Of course he was worried about me, but he tried to stay calm, and more importantly, keep the others calm. 

"Hello there, broski." The same Merritt-looking guy said to them. 

"That guy looks exactly like you!" Lula freaked out again. 

"Chase?" Merritt questioned, surprised to see him, whoever he was. 

Chase turned out to be Merritt's twin brother. The one who ran off with all his money. His ex-manager. Now, he was working for whoever got the Horsemen to China. Thankfully, Chase answered some questions. Merritt was hypnotised the same way I was, with a pizza box twirled around that said 'sleep' on it. 

"Mer-bear downloaded all your private information, and I took it to my employer. It was all too easy, really." Chase gloated. 

"All of it?" Daniel questioned, not wanting to ask about me until he knew they already knew about me. He didn't want them to have more leverage of the Horsemen. 

"Every last detail to your plan. You Horsemen seem to be missing a couple of your friends, right?" Chase smiled. 

"Where is she?" Daniel hissed. 

"Where is who?" Chase chuckled. 

"Don't play games with me. Where's Lily? I swear, if you've done anything to her, I'll--" 

"Ah! The cute blonde girl who you used as distraction. Don't worry, she wasn't left out. She even boarded the same flight as you here." 

The more Chase explained, the more worried Daniel and the Horsemen got. 

"Where is she?" Daniel hissed again. 

"I'm taking you right to her. My employer had a few questions for her before you got here." 

Daniel was a little relieved that they were taking him to me. 

Around that time, I was being interrogated. 

"Morning, Lily." My captor said. He had an English accent and a really ugly beard. 

"Who are you? Where am I? Where is everyone?" 

"No, no, no, I'm the one who does the asking of questions here. Tell us about your Horsemen." 

"My what?" I pretended not to know. 

"Don't play games with me, I know you're one of them."

"One of who? I'm not one of anything!" I lied again. 

"When Chase, Merritt's twin brother who I've hired, called you name, you whirled around and yelled 'Merritt!' like someone you thought had died came back to life. You know them. You're one of them." 

"Okay, I'm sorry." I sighed. "I know them. I'm a huge fan of them. I ran into Daniel Atlas after their show in Queens last year, and they asked me to help them. All I did was distract the guard. When the Horsemen went missing, I was trying to go home. That's when Chase found me." 

"Good. We're finally getting to the truth. Now, my sources tell me you are their weakness. The Horsemen, being as tricky as they are, will likely try to take what I want after they've stolen it. They won't hand it over. And that is what you are for."

"What do you want?" 

"Nothing you should concern yourself with, if you're really not aHorseman" 

"I'm nobody." I said. And I was telling the truth.

"You're a Horseman."

"I'm not! I could never be one of them, I don't have the talent, or the guts, anything!" I continued to rant. "I'm nobody! Please, just let me go!" 

"They sent you in to distract a guard for their latest operation. You're one of them." 

"I'm not a Horseman! I was used, okay? I…" I stuttered. I had to get them to let me go. Daniel wouldn't be able to do anything right knowing I was a hostage. "I could never do what they do. The Horsemen are great magicians, and heroes. But I'm done with them. I can't handle this. I can't do it! I'm not brave or strong like them. I'm nobody." 

"She's not a Horsemen, we'll give you that." Jack Wilder smiled as he walked into the room, followed by Atlas, Lula, and Merritt. 

"But she's our friend. She's a really cool girl." Lula winked at me. 

"Now, you're going to let our friend go one way or another. We can either beat the shit out of all of you with magic, or…" Merritt smiled as he took a card out of his sleeve. "or we can do things the hard way." 

"Lily isn't a nobody. She's somebody worth saving." Daniel smiled apologetically at me. Even though it wasn't his fault, he felt bad for dragging me into this indirectly. I couldn't help but beam at them. I was a friend? A really cool girl? They came to save me? I was worth saving? "Are you alright?" 

"I'm okay." I smiled up at him. "And all of you guys are, too?" 

"We are." 

"Thank you, guys." I smiled at them. I still couldn’t believe they were my friends. THEM. The Four Horsemen. My friends. 

"Any time." Jack chuckled.

"You may not be a Horsemen, but you are one of us." Lula added. 

"Exactly. We'd go just as far to save you as we would any of the Horsemen." Merritt continued. "No, wait, we'd go farther for you than for Atlas." 

That got a laugh out of everyone but Daniel. 

"Nobody's going anywhere." Walter, the English jackass, stated. "How about we make a deal, Horsemen? I will send Lily home if you agree to steal for me." 

"Agreed." Daniel said in a heartbeat. 

"Daniel, no, you ca--" 

"We can and we will." Merritt seconded Daniel's choice. 

"But we don't lift a finger until Lily is home safe." Jack said. 

"Deal. In the meantime, I'll explain everything." Walter began

"Guys! No!" I objected. 

"Lily, listen to me." Daniel gave me a hug. "We owe you. We'll do this, and then we'll come home and work on a plan to clear our names. And after we're free, we'll be together. I promise." 

"Bye, Lil." Lula smiled. 

"Take care, Lily." Merritt tipped his hat.

"We'll miss you, Lily." Jack sighed, knowing this was goodbye, not see you later. Because I wouldn't see them later. My job was done. The only way I could see them is if their next two plans worked out. 

"Thanks for everything. Goodbye, Lil." Daniel gave me one more hug. 

"Goodbye, guys. I love you all." I made sure to look Daniel right in the eye as I said that, hopefully letting him know I love him in more ways than one. 

After that, I went home. I didn't like this at all. First I was told to go home by Dylan, now the Horsemen were sending me home, too? I wasn't as good as them, but I trained for a year. I could help! But no, they sent me home.


	6. Lil's First Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Horsemen escape Tressler and reveal his fake-death and all the laws he's been breaking in London on New Years Eve. Soon after that, Daniel goes to visit Lily and things get hot and steamy. This is the first smut chapter, and I had to swim in Holy Water after this... so enjoy!

I don't know what happened after that. I didn't sleep at all when I didn't know how the Horsemen were doing. Finally, I heard an announcement that they were having a show in London, and I booked my flight immediately. I was so glad they were fine and free and performing! I watched Daniel stop rain for his part of the show, and disappear into a puddle after smiling and winking at me.  At the stroke of midnight, they did their reveal of Walter, and disappeared from stage. 

I waited around in London for an hour. When the Horsemen left this time, Daniel didn't bump into me. Dylan didn't ask me to join them. It was over. Everything was over. Unless, by some miracle, the FBI dropped all their charges magically. 

I stayed the night in London and flew out the next afternoon. A week later, Daniel was at my door. 

"Lily! How are you?" Daniel smiled, taking me into his arms for a hug. 

I didn't say anything. I just hugged him back. I was mad and I felt abandoned, but I missed him, despite all of that. I missed him so much. Daniel stepped out of the hug to repeat his question. 

"Pretty crappy." I answered the second time. "You trained me for over a year, Daniel. I should be able to help you. I should get to stay with you." 

"It's too dangerous. We want to make sure you won't get associated with us and be on the FBI's radar. If you just wait a little while longer, then you can come rejoin us. We won't be the Four Horsemen anymore, but we may still live together for a while and we all want you with us. We'll do anything to make it up to you, just name it. There's gotta be something we can do. That I can do."

"I don't know if there is. You're getting out of the magic game, but I want in. I know enough to help now." 

"What… what are you saying…?"

"I want to perform with you guys. I want to be the fifth Horsemen who actually gets up on stage. But that can't happen. Despite what all of you said back in China, I am just a nobody. And I'm not one of you. I never wil be." 

"Don't say that." Daniel took my hand and looked into my eyes. I felt something. It was like I felt before, only stronger. "I love you, Lily. You're right, you do know some magic. But we want out for a reason. Unless you want to spend the rest of your life hiding and running from the law, then you don't want this." 

"Well, we wouldn't have to steal. We could just do magic. If you get cleared, you're going to stop performing?" 

"Yeah. I think I want to go back to school while I still have the chance."

"What do you mean 'while I still have the chance?'.?" I asked. 

"Um…" Daniel debated not telling me this. "I was thinking… I was thinking I want to settle down within the next five years or so. And… hopefully with you, if you want that. I love you, Lil." 

I didn't know what to say. J. Daniel Atlas was confessing to me. Leading me on was a dick move, but he didn't take it past the point of no return. 

"You do?" I smiled and squeezed his hand. "But why?" 

"What do you mean 'why?'." Daniel laughed. 

"What do you see in me? I don't have talent or bravery or looks or anything. I'm no Henley or Lula." 

"Thank God, because we don't need any more of them." Daniel chuckled. "I don't care that you're not a magician. I don't care if you never get to help us out again. You are a lot of things that Henley and Lula and every other girl in the world aren't. You're happy-go-lucky, and innocent, and sweet, and understanding… and…" 

"And what?" 

"And forgiving, I hope." Daniel smiled. "If you don't know how wonderful you are, I'll be sure to never let you forget it." 

"I seriously can't believe it." I beamed at him. "You're in love with me, of all people?" 

"I am." Daniel looked into my eyes again, and even in the dim light of just my lamp, he could see right through me. I had forgiven him. And I wanted to be with him, too. After realising that, Daniel cupped my cheek with one hand and wrapped the other around my waist as he leaned in and kissed me. 

Atlas had kissed me before. Many times. But this was completely different. I couldn't have held my eyes open even if I had wanted to. I was so lost in his lips. After a little while, I felt Daniel's tongue on my lips, begging for entrance. And of course, I let him, and I was glad I did. In a few more minutes, Daniel had made me a hot mess. I was panting, my skin felt like it was melting, and my hair was a mess. 

"God, you're beautiful." Daniel took a brief moment to say before he was devouring me again. He was the most amazing kisser ever. And I was so into it that I was much more sensitive to every tough, and Daniel had me moaning as soon as he moved to my neck. "Don't hold back any of your delicious noises. I want to hear everything. I want all of you, Lily. I want to be yours, and I want you to be mine."

I was borderline speechless. I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything. Daniel, however, didn't take my silence as agreement. 

"Am I going too fast for you? I'm sorry, we just made up, and I don't want to screw things up with you again, I--" 

I cut him off there "No, that's not it."

"It's not? What is it, then?" 

"If we do this… it'll be my… my first time…" I couldn't look him in the eye. I was too embarrassed, this was too much. There was a part of me that wanted Daniel all over me, and in me. I wanted to hear him, to feel him, to be with him. Part of me felt like that was right. But then, another part of me felt like it was wrong. Like I wasn't ready for this. Like Daniel and I weren't going to last, so I shouldn't give it up to him. Part of me was very scared. 

"Lil, we don't have to do it tonight. I'm more than happy knowing that we're together now. I'm more than happy just having you fall asleep in my arms, and waking up to you in the morning."

"That is something I know I want." I smiled. "I wish I could see the future. I feel like… like we…" 

"Like we'll last. Like we're soul mates. Like we're meant for each other. I feel like that, too." Daniel smiled and kissed me gently. 

"That's exactly it." I was so happy we were on the same page. "But I'm paranoid. I'm paranoid that, after seeing the success of our mission, Henley will come back, and you'll leave me for her. I'm afraid someone new will come into your life, or even someone else from your past, and take you from me. I'm afraid that maybe I just won't be enough for you and you'll dump me. I love you, too, Daniel. But I'm scared. I know you've said you love me, and it's why you've gotten this far. I feel like, in the end, I'll ruin this." 

"That's where we have something in common. I'm afraid of screwing things up. I'm terrified of miscalculating something and having everything I worked toward slip through my fingers. That's why I'm a control freak. I try to have as much control over a situation as I can, I try to plan as much as possible, so that there's the smallest chance things will go awry. The only thing I can't always plan for is other people. Like you. According to my plan I had the day we met, I wasn't supposed to date anyone for five or so years. And when I did find someone, I'd find her in the Eye, we'd both be a part of it. But life is spontaneous. Sometimes the things it surprises you with are not great. People you care about suddenly leave your lives, one way or another. But every once in a while, life throws you something amazing. Something that at first is a wrench in your plans, makes you question everything you thought you knew, and drives you crazy. Only until you embrace them, that is. Once you accept what is given to you, you're at peace. When I realised that I didn't just like you, but I was in love with you, everything fell into place. Everything seemed perfect. I looked back on my plans and realised how stupid they were. Waiting another five years to meet someone? Why wouldn't I just live in the moment and let whatever happens happen. And dating another magician in the Eye? I would be way too paranoid about losing her, like we could've lost Jack."

"What does that mean for me?" 

"It means that, if you wait for me, I will make you the happiest girl in the world. If you can be patient with me, and give me the time I need to finally end this, we could have a family. If that's what you want, too." 

"It is!" I agreed. Daniel pulled me in closer to him and kissed my neck. 

"That's my girl." He said as we spooned. I couldn't help but smile at that. "Before you fall asleep on me, I have to ask you something. Why don't you call me Danny like everyone else does? You've always called me Daniel." 

"Danny's a cute abbreviation to show you're close to whoever called you it. But I won't call you it precisely because everyone calls you it. I want to call you by something nobody else does." 

"I love that." Daniel smiled as he kissed me again. By that time, I had made my decision. Daniel was going to make me stay home, and I was 99.9% sure the other Horsemen would agree that it was too dangerous for me to join them. Besides, I had a life, and family who had wondered when I would get back from my exchange, why I hadn't said goodbye, and why I rarely used to call. I wanted Daniel and the others to be a part of that life. Sure, the Four Horsemen had robbed a lot of people. But they did it only from the rich, and never kept anything for themselves. Their moral compasses pointed True North. I held out hope that Daniel was right, and they could come out of hiding and would no longer be in danger. That day would be soon, and it would be the one when Daniel and I could finally, truly be together. Until then, I just had to wait. 

The decision I made was that betting my virginity that Daniel and I would make it was a risk I wanted to take. Daniel could sense that from my kiss, and when he did, he straddled me. His lips moved down to my neck again, only this time, Daniel wasn't afraid to make hickeys. 

"Let's get you out of those P.Js…" Daniel whispered seductively in my ear as he started to roll my shirt off. I sat up to make the task easier, and then Daniel pushed me back down to kiss his way from my neck to my breasts to my stomach. I couldn't help but smile and sigh in contentment as his lips brushed my skin. "You're quiet. Are you really okay with this? I don't want to make you do anything you're not completely comfortable with." 

"I'm sorry… I've never done this before, so I'm not exactly sure how I should sound… and maybe my nerves are keeping me quiet. But I do want this. We both thing that our relationship is long term. Hearing that, as well as those three magic words from you earlier, convinced me. I'm not just a fling to you, and you're not that to me either. We're not going to lie to each other anymore. I love you, Daniel. And you're so… And I want…" 

Daniel smirked at my innocence, excited to teach me something new. 

"Finish those sentences." Daniel whispered in my ear seductively. I could feel how much I was blushing. "Come on, Lil. Tell me what you want… I just might do it." 

My throat was very dry and my pulse was racing.

"You're so hot, Daniel. Every time I look at you, I want your tongue down my throat and your hands on me. And mine on you." I finally managed to say as I felt Daniel's abs. 

"That was one of the two. Now for the other one. What do you want me to do to you?" 

"I…" I had never actually uttered these words myself. I had heard about it online, and fantasized about it. But it seemed too weird, and Daniel wouldn't like it. 

Daniel slid his hand down from my back to my waist to my crotch. He started to rub the sensitive part of it through my P.J bottoms, and I held back breathy moans. Daniel went faster until I couldn't hold them back anymore. After a few seconds more, he abruptly stopped. 

"You liked that?" He asked. 

"Y--yeah…" I nearly panted. 

"Then finish that second sentence, and I'll finish what I started there, and do whatever you wanted, too. All you have to do is tell me. Or I won't continue." 

I didn't want that. I was too excited for that, and Daniel planned this. 

"I…. I want you to… to go… to go down on me…" I finally managed to say.

Daniel's smile only widened. 

"Wow," He chuckled against my ear. "That's so naughty. And you're showing your naughty side just to me. I can't wait to see more of you that you'll show just. To. Me." 

Before I knew it, my pants and now damp underwear were on the floor with the rest of my clothes. Daniel brought his mouth down and the second it made contact I gasped. He searched around and knew he had found my clit when I moaned. I tried to keep my voice down, but I eventually lost the will to do so as Daniel kept sucking and flicking my clit with his tongue. 

"Daniel…" I moaned. "You're… so good." 

He loved the sound of that. The sound of me. And he really wanted to hear more of that. The next thing he dared to try was likely what would've woken everyone up if we didn't have the house to ourselves. 

"Fuck, Daniel!" I half-yelled and half-moaned. "Oh, fuck." 

Within a few more minutes, I couldn't say anything but Daniel's name as he put me over the edge. Once again, I was a panting mess, only this time with shaky legs. 

"I take it I did well." Daniel chuckled in my ear before kissing it. 

"Very well." I panted. But as I realised what came next, I started to gain my composure. I had forgotten about my nerves for a while, and after realising what had just happened, they were scaring me more than ever. I took a deep breath and looked at Daniel. I was in love with him, and he was in love with me. I wasn't going to lose him. I let the part of me that didn't worry, the part of me who's only feeling was wanting Daniel so bad, take over. I pulled him into a kiss that soon turned into more. 

Daniel reached down and his finger entered me. I gripped my hands on his shoulders as he slid in and out and in and out. He added a second finger, and did the same, stretching me since it was my first time. 

When Daniel curled his finger, I gasped as he hit my sweet spot. 

"Oh, God." I said. "Do that again, Daniel…" 

"Do what again?" He chuckled, knowing exactly what I meant. 

"Come on, don't tease me, DanIEL…" When I was halfway through saying his name, he hit that spot again, moaning out in a high pitched voice. 

"I like the sound of that." Daniel kissed my neck as he inserted a third finger. Soon after that, I was ready for the real thing. "Okay. I'm going in. You need to tell me if it hurts too much or anything. I'll immediately pull out. I don't want you to feel bad or anything. I just want you to be okay, and if you don't tell me the truth, you might not be. We might not be. Alright?" 

"Okay." I took another deep breath before Daniel went in. It was a weird feeling, but I knew it would get better. Daniel was the only guy I'd been with, so I didn't know how to judge size, but I felt like he was on the bigger than average. Every time I would even squint at the pain, he would stop and ask me if I was okay, and he wouldn't take a nod for an answer, I had to say it out loud. Knowing that no matter how much pleasure he was feeling, his first priority was me, made the process a lot easier and a lot less scary. 

"I'm in." Daniel said as he wiped a tear from my eye. "You okay?" 

"I'm fine." I smiled. "Thanks for taking it so slow and always checking on me. I know that pace isn't easy for you." 

"It's okay. At the moments when all I wanted to do was ram into you, and believe me… I'm still feeling that…" He gulped, holding back his urges. "I just concentrated on your face. When you squinted in pain, when tears rolled down your eyes, and every other look of discomfort. I just kept looking for all the reasons not to." 

"Awe." I smiled and cupped his cheek. "I… I think you're good to go now…" I said awkwardly. 

"No, I won't settle for an 'I think'. Don't rush this for me, it'll do both of us more harm than good." 

"I'm not. I want you to move, Daniel. I need you to move. Da--" Was all I could get out before Daniel did as I asked. He still started out slowly, but it already felt so good. He had me moaning in no time. "Dan…. Dan…. Dan… Mmmm, Dan…" 

Daniel began to moan, too. It was unbelievably amazing to be on the receiving end of the moans. "Lil… Oh, fuck, Lil…" 

I didn't even have to ask Daniel to go faster, he did that on his own. As he got closer to his own climax, he started sucking on my neck again, making more and more hickies. But he didn't care. He was leaving in the morning, and he wanted to let everyone know I was his. I didn't have the urge to mark him, but I still knew he was mine, too. 

"Dan! Oh fuck, I'm…" I had another orgasm, screaming Daniel's name. My walls clenched around him, driving him over the edge too. 

"Lil!" He came. After a minute, Daniel pulled out of me and nestled beside me under the sheets. "You okay?" 

"Okay?" I giggled. "That was amazing! I'm sure I'll be a little sore tomorrow, but that's the least of my worries. Literally. I'm so glad we did this. I was hesitant to do something so… so unlike me. I'm innocent and a child at heart. This just seemed like it went against everything I am. I've always looked at growing up as a bad thing, and this seems to be a part of it, so I considered it bad, too. But you, Daniel, made me so… so crazy about you that I got past all that. I thought this would change who I was. But it didn't. I can still be my happy-go-lucky, innocent, child-at-heart self… even if I'm not a virgin anymore. And I'm glad that I lost it to you. I had a boyfriend once before who… he didn't really pressure me, but I still managed to feel like I had to do it with him. I felt like I was a bad girlfriend if I didn't. But every time I even thought about it, I had a mini panic attack. I ended up breaking up with him to relieve the anxiety. Things were different with you, though. I didn't feel like I had to. I didn't feel like I was a bad girlfriend for considering leaving tomorrow without doing this. You made me want to do it, Daniel, and nobody has ever done that before. Thanks for being so patient with me, and for caring so much. I love you, Daniel." 

"I love you, too, Lily." Daniel smiled and pulled me in for a kiss. "That was a beautiful little speech. I'm not as good with words as you, but I can say this. I may be famous, but I've never felt more special. I may have done some good things and brought down bad people, but I've never felt better about myself. You bring out the best in me…" 

"Awe…" I started to cry. "Daniel, let me come with you. I don't want you to leave, not without me… I don't want to be away from you." 

"It's okay. You'll be fine, Lil. I'll come visit, and you can visit us, too. This won't go on forever. We'll all be out soon. We've done quite a lot of illegal stuff. One of our plans will clear our name, and we'll be safe to live normal lives again." 

"That'll never happen. The closest you can get to 'normal' is the same normal the Kardashians will get. You'll be bombarded with offers for TV shows, or interviews, and all that stuff. You won't be able to go anywhere without bodyguards, and the paparazzi will be on you like white on rice. The more I think about it, the worse things look."

"Do you remember Hillary Duff?" 

"Yeah, she was one of my favourites." 

"She's got a kid. She hasn't been in the press in forever." 

"Okay, but she's not as famous as you guys." 

"Really? You don't think so? Then what about Ellen Degeneres. You don't see her in the press, just on the show she wants to do. If we turn them down enough times, they'll leave us alone. Even William and Kate have their privacy." 

"I hope so." I snuggled in closer. 

"I promise you that. If you don't want to be in magazines and stuff, we don't have to tell anyone we're together until it's safe to do so. Besides, you know me. I'm pretty good at disappearing, and I can take you with me. We can live out in the country somewhere, if that's where you want. Whatever it is you want for us, I will make it happen. I promise. I'm not going to let the Horsemen or even the Eye keep us apart."

"Thank you, Daniel." I smiled and kissed him again. Then, I buried my face in the crook of his neck. "I'm really gonna miss you, though." 

"I'm gonna miss you, too. I'm going to miss seeing your smile every day. I can't wait to just get this over with." 

"I never thought I'd hear J. Daniel Atlas say he wants to get his magic career and his time in the Eye over with." 

"Well, you never thought J. Daniel Atlas would meet you. It's amazing the effect one person can have on your life." 

After that, we fell asleep, and Daniel left in the morning.


	7. It's Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel ends it with Lily. Henley comes back so the Horsemen can clear their names and have their freedom back. And, he chooses her to be with over Lily. Our poor heroine is devastated, and the rest of the Horsemen are now pissed at Danny for what he did to their friend. The Horsemen have their first show in Toronto, and since that's so close to where Lily lives, she goes and hangs out with the Horsemen afterwords.

It had been two months since he went left. I'd been back to visit the Horsemen twice since then. And when I had finished my shift that day, I got the best surprise ever. Daniel was waiting outside the door of my workplace.

"Hey, Lil." Daniel smiled and held his arms open for me. I immediately ran to him and he picked me up and twirled me around. 

"I can't believe you're here! Why didn't you call me?" 

"Well…" Daniel didn't want to finish his sentence. I prayed that he would end up deciding to finish it with something along the lines of 'I wanted to surprise you!'. 

"Something's wrong. What's wrong, Daniel?" 

"I'll tell you, but not here. Okay?" 

"How bad is it? Is everyone alright?" 

"We're all fine. It's not about the Horsemen. It's about you and me." 

I stopped flat in my tracks. I knew what was happening. 

"I'll explain everything." Daniel took my hand, encouraging me to walk. We hopped in his car and I was on the verge of tears before he had even told me what he had to say. 

Don't cry. I told myself. Whatever you do, don't cry. There's always something worse. If he breaks up with you, just think of what could be worse. He could have died in action. Dylan, Jack, Lula, or Merritt could've died in action. Break-ups are tough, but not as tough as someone you care about losing their life. It could always be worse. It could always be worse. 

"So," Daniel reluctantly began. "We're trying to clear our names. We're trying to make it so we can roam the streets freely without fear of arrest." 

"That's good. That's not what you really have to tell me, though." 

"No… it's not." Daniel sighed.. "Jack and Merritt say hi. Lula said something along the lines of 'Tell Lily how much I love and miss her!'." 

I couldn't help but smile at that. 

"I miss Lula, too. I miss everyone. Say hi to them for me, too." 

"Will do." Daniel took a deep breath. "In order to clear our names, we need all of us to be there. Henley is back with us." 

There is was. He was with Henley now. Everything he said about how he didn't want to be with her or Lula, about how he didn't want to be with a fellow magician at all, EVERYTHING he said that night was all a lie. A lie to get me into bed. Every. Last. Thing. 

"I'm so sorry, Lily. Henley and I were never a couple, but I wanted to be, back when she was my assistant. I just wasn't mature enough. I missed her when she left the Horsemen. And when she came back, so did… all my old feelings. I'm sorry. I…" 

"You lied to me. Just to get me into bed." 

"I didn't lie to you." He defended. "I felt those things. But I had the same feelings for Henley, too. I'm sorry. I hope you will understand. With you gone, and Henley back… my feelings for you left, and my feelings for her came back." 

"You expect me to believe that? You expect me to believe that you didn't deceive me again? You can say anything you want, but it doesn't make it true. You lied to me so you could sleep with me." 

"No, I didn't, I--" 

"No, you did! You are the worst kind of person! You don't give a single fuck about other people's feelings! You use and abuse people! You lie! You don't care! I hate you! I fucking hate you!" I could just barely hold back the waterworks. "I should never have trusted you. I should never have believed you. And I won't make that mistake again. Not a third time. Goodbye, Danny." 

Daniel wiped the tears from his eyes. I had never called him Danny before. I had always wanted to seem special to him. But now, I didn't care how he saw me, because I didn't think he could see me as anything worse. And eventually, Daniel thought, I would stop caring about him in general. He couldn't keep himself from crying. He didn't want to hurt me, he loved me, and wanted to be with me. But he couldn't. 

I slammed his car door shut and marched off to mine. As soon as I was out of sight, I bawled my eyes out. I felt so violated. He took my virginity when I didn't mean a thing to him. I was stupid enough to let him take it because I did believe he loved me. I felt like a dirty paper towel that Daniel threw out. 

The next few months were the hardest ever. I thought about Daniel constantly. And the rare moments when I got him off my mind, I thought of the other Horsemen, which made me think of Daniel again.

I saw the Horsemen on the news, and my heart fell right through my stomach. Seeing his face, even on TV, was too much. The news report said they were going to Toronto, and that wasn't far from me. I had hoped that Lula, Jack, Merritt, and Dylan would've come to visit by now. It had been three months since I'd last seen them all, and just over that since Daniel had broken up with me for Henley. She was even on the news this time. The report said the six of them would be there to explain everything and clear their names. 

As I listened to the rest of the news, simply because I didn't have the energy or motivation to turn it off, I noticed something. Was it just a coincidence that they planned their show so close to me? They were all good people… well, except Atlas. They wouldn't do this in my home country, so close to my hometown, to rub it in my face. There had to be a reason. Part of me felt like they wanted me to come. 

They were performing in front of the CN tower in five hours. I could get to Toronto in half that time, but I left right away, just to make sure I actually got to see them, and it wouldn't be too packed. The entire drive, I debated turning back. I didn't want to see Daniel. I didn't want to see him go up on stage with Henley. I didn't want to see him happy with her. I wanted to go home, crawl into bed, and cry again. But that was a cowardly move. I wasn’t strong enough or courageous enough to become one of them. But I was strong and courageous enough to face Daniel and Henley. 

I waited at the foot of the C.N Tower for the performance to start. And when it did, I focused on Lula, Merritt, Jack, and Dylan not Henley, and Daniel. 

"We have an announcement to make." Daniel began. 

"We've done some bad things." Henley continued. 

"But they were all for good reasons." Jack added. 

"We never hurt anybody. There were never any injuries, let alone deaths." Lula said. 

"Yet our enemies tried to drowned me in a safe. To murder me in a torturous way." Dylan added. 

"We tried to set things right. We tried to reveal just a tiny little itty bitty fraction of the corruption in this world." Merritt stated. 

"And what do we get? Chased by the FBI." 

"We sacrificed years of our life, and risked possibly many, many years in jail, to try to make the world a better place. To bring a little magic to it." 

"We want to make the entire world happy and full of magic again." 

"And we can start that by apologising." 

"We are sorry for how we did things. There were more legal ways to help people." 

"Our story is a classic case of trying to do the right thing a wrong way." 

"We're announcing our retirement from our Robin-Hood like magic careers." Daniel sighed. 

"The next time we see corruption, we'll go about exposing it the legal route." 

That was when Daniel saw me. When our eyes made contact, the smile was wiped clear off his face. It was replaced by worry and sadness

"We'd like to ask the FBI for forgiveness." 

"Please, stop chasing us. We're not a threat or a danger anymore." 

"We aren't trying to act like we've done nothing wrong, because we have." 

"We just want to call a truce. No more theft, and no more arrest attempts." 

They went on to highlight more reasons why the FBI should drop their charges. I believed the FBI should. The Horsemen are good people who never hurt anybody. They only exposed villains. If this was a movie, they'd be the heroes. So why couldn't they be in real life? 

And then I remembered yet another reason why life isn't like the movies: relationships. But despite how much he hurt me, I didn't want to see him in jail. In fact, I just didn't want to see him. At all. I spent majority of the show trying to debate whether to stay and say hi to Lula, Jack, Merritt, and Dylan, or to leave and avoid Henley and Daniel. I decided that I would get to see more people if I stayed than I'd avoid if I left, so the pros outweighed the cons. I went backstage and got to see everyone. 

They were all smiling and laughing backstage before they noticed me. Lula was sitting on Jack's lap, and Daniel had his arm around Henley's waist. I took a deep breath before making myself known.

"Long time, no see, guys." I smiled. 

"Lily!" Lula smiled and ran up to hug me. "Oh my gosh, how are you?" 

"I'm good. And you?" 

"Great!" Lula beamed, then she whispered in my ear. "You're not fine, and we'll have a one on one chat about it later." 

I smiled at that, too. I'd forgotten how much I missed these guys. I'd gone slightly numb from self-pity and betrayal lately. 

"I'm so glad you came!" Jack smiled as he took me into a bear hug. 

"Me, too! As soon as I heard you guys were performing so close, I knew I had to come!" 

"That was the plan." Merritt winked as he took his turn to hug me. "And you can thank Dylan for that, by the way." 

"Thanks, Dylan." I smiled as I hugged him. That was it for hugs from me. 

"Hey, Lil." Henley smiled as she walked up to me, thinking she might get a hug.

"Hey." I smiled back. I took a look behind Henley to see Daniel watching me. "Hey, Danny." 

That wiped a good three quarters of the smile off his face. 

"Hey! How've you been?" Daniel put that fake smile back on. 

"I've been good. School's going well, this'll be my last fun thing to do before exam time hits. And how've you been?" 

"Great. We've been busy planning. Hopefully the FBI will realise they're never going to catch us and take this truce." 

"Hopefully." I agreed. I looked to Dylan. "So, how are you and Alma?" 

"We're great. After this settles down, I'm moving to France." 

"No way! That's amazing!" I beamed as I gave Dylan another hug. "I'm so happy for you guys! Have you proposed or are you waiting to be free of the FBI first?" 

"I have to be free first. I can't drag her into this." 

"Right, right." My smile faded again, remembering that excuse. "Totally understandable."

"Hey! Can you take us up the C.N tower?" Lula beamed. 

"Yeah, sure." I was happy to get off the relationship subject, but I'm glad I mentioned it so I could find out Dylan's happy news. 

"Danny, I know you're afraid of heights, so I'll let you stay back. And I'm sure Henley will keep you company." Merritt improvised. 

"Okay. Have fun, you guys." Daniel waved as we left. 

"Merritt, you're a genius, and I love you." I beamed at him when we were out of hearing range. 

"No need to thank me. I wasn't even going to let that asshole in the same room with you for more than introductions. He's not getting any more time than that." Merritt nearly hissed. 

"But he's your teammate. You guys seem kinda hostile toward him, considering." 

"We've stolen twice and are currently fugitives. We're criminals. But what Danny did to you was worse than what he's done in all his years with the Horsemen." Jack agreed with Merritt. 

"Sure, we have to be nice to him so we can work together. But when he's not around, neither is our fake respect for him." Lula laughed. 

It was so nice to hang out with my friends again. I had really missed it. And Lula and Jack were cuter than ever together. I wished I had something like that. I got along even better with Merritt that day than I ever had. And Dylan was more talkative than usual. It was a great night. 

"Hey! Why don't you stay with us tonight? It's already nine, we don't want you getting home too late." Lula suggested. 

"Oh, no, I can't. But thanks for the offer." 

"No, you are. I don't talk to Henley about boys since, you know, so I really want you to stay so we can chat!" Lula begged, looping her arm through mine. 

"Yeah, Lily, stay. It's been so long, you can't just go after a few hours." Merritt agreed.

"I'd love to, you guys, but…" I trailed off. 

"Well then, it's a good thing that you don't have the keys to your car." Jack dangled my keychain in front of me.

"Wilder!" I cried as I tried to grab the keys from him. 

"You should stay. We have four rooms. Merritt and I were supposed to each have our own, but I'm sure Merritt would be more than happy to let Jack stay with him so you can stay with Lula." Dylan said. 

"Absolutely." Merritt sighed. And so did Jack. But they knew it was worth it to have me around. 

"I don't want to cause you any trouble. You guys don't have to switch rooms for me."

"But there's still the matter of those keys." Merritt reminded me. 

"Right. Jack, give 'em here." I held out my hand. 

"Jack, keep them til tomorrow. Lily, the more you beg, the later we'll let you leave tomorrow." Lula laughed. 

"Don't worry about the asshat. You won't even see him, we'll make sure of that." Merritt smiled as he put his arm around my shoulder. 

"That's a promise." Lula added. 

"Okay, fine." I smiled, so happy to finally feel wanted again. It had been a while.


	8. Girl Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily spends the night in Toronto with Lula and they talk a bit about Jack and Lula's relationship, and mostly about how Daniel broke Lily's heart. The next morning, Daniel apologies to Lily, even though the last thing Lily wants is to see him, even if it is to apologize.

As soon as we got back to the hotel, Lula banished the boys from our room, and cracked open the mini-bar. 

"Alright, girl talk." She giggled as she passed me my rum and coke. "What's first on the list?" 

"You and Jack!" I beamed. "You guys weren't a thing when I was still there, except visits, and it's been months! What's happened?" 

"What hasn't? I have liked Jack since I first saw him perform. But, unfortunately for me, I couldn't find him. I did find Dylan, though, which was even better because he made me a Horseman. And once I was in, I made it my life's mission to get Jack Wilder to fall for me. You weren't in China, so you don't know what happened. But I started complimenting him, getting as much facetime as I could with him pretending to need more practice when I had things down pat already, and then I impressed him by using his own experties against him: slight of hand. I took his wallet and belt in the magic shop there. It was hilarious! And then I sealed the deal at midnight on New Years Eve. Things got hot and steamy after that, and it turns out Jack has some funny kinks." Lula giggled, and I couldn't help but pay very close attention. "We haven't dropped the L bomb yet, but Jack's shy. He's ended up self-destructing every relationship he's been in. But I'm different, and I know that won't happen on his end. And I'm not dropping the bomb first because I'm afraid it might." 

"I don't know. It's October, it's been a while since you guys have gotten together. Or did you guys not actually become a couple in January?" 

"Not officially until Valentine's Day. I waited for him to ask. Again, because I didn't want to scare him off." 

"I totally get that, but you're letting Jack make all the moves here. Besides the kiss at midnight that is. You might want to do something to show him you really are interested in him. He needs to know that you care about him. You don't have to drop the L bomb, just do something cute and romantic." 

"Will do. Thanks, Lily." She hugged me, and I hugged her back. An hour and four drinks later, we finally got onto the subject I had drank to be able to handle. "So, sweetie. What's up with Daniel?"

"Other than him dumping me for Henley?" 

"No, how do you feel? Have you talked this out with anyone?" 

"No." I sighed. "Do you know what we did when he came to visit for the last time…?

"What happened?"

"He…" I could feel the tears welling up. "He was spouting all these lies that I believed at the time… and he told me he loved me… and that after he got the FBI off his tail, we could be together… we'd settle down… and…. And then… we did it… He lied to me to get me into bed." 

I couldn't help but be ashamed of myself. 

"It was my first time." The tears were threatening to come already. "I was nervous to do it… but I thought 'We're gonna stay together'. I loved him, and he told me he loved me, too. Those three things were all I needed to… to give it up." 

"Oh, honey, it's alright. We all do things we regret. The first time is pretty much never with the right person. And if it makes you feel any better, in my next act, I'll behead him."

I couldn't help but chuckle at that through my tears. 

"Continue, honey." 

"That same night, he told me he felt nothing for Henley. That he didn't want to be with another magician. He lied about both those things, and I'm pretty sure he lied about everything else, too.He duped me into sleeping with him. My first time was with a liar and a selfish asshole. I hate him!"

"You're gonna be okay. You're gonna find someone so much better. The first guy you do it with is rarely ever the right one. I slept with a few guys before Jack, and I regret majority of them. But you gotta kiss a few frogs before you find the one that turns into a prince."

"Lula, how do you do it? How do all the girls who do it do it? How can casual sex even be a thing? You're letting someone be so close… see you totally vulnerable and naked… letting them bring down all your walls one moan at a time. I… I was even hesitant to do it with Danny, and I was in love with him… So how do people do it?"

"You know how people come in all shapes and sizes?" 

"Yeah…" 

"So do personalities. There are people who put emphasis on families. People who put emphasis on work. People who put emphasis on their dreams. And people who put emphasis on love and romance. You're the last type of person. You've already planned where you're having your wedding and what style of dress you're wearing, right?" 

"Disney World and ball gown." 

"Of course! That would be the cutest wedding ever, I can't wait to come!" Lula giggled again, getting a smile out of me, too. "Anyway, for people like you, you're focused on the emotional part of the relationship. But, for people like me and Jack, we don't show our love through emotions as much as we do through physical actions. That's why they call it making love." 

"If it's called that, then why do strangers do it? What's with hook up culture, it's fucked!" 

"Now that's where biology comes in. You're hopeless romantic view overpowers biology. You think you should only give yourself to people you love. But, other people just follow their natural instincts. And they're rewarded for it by pleasure. We place pleasure above our personal privacy and… morals, unfortunately." Lula continued. "Most people are like me and Jack. Especially guys. I'm sorry, sweetie, but you're rare." 

"I already knew that last part. Can I just skip the dating phase which inevitably leads to me getting my heart broken and lied to? Let's get straight to the happily ever after." 

"It took me a while, but I think I found mine. And I'm sure you'll find yours, too. Merritt's available." 

We had another good laugh at that. He was too old for me. He was almost my father's age.

"But on a serious note, Lily, you'll find your happy ending. It might just take a little while still. You're only nineteen." 

"Danny's only twenty-four, and he found it with Henley, who's twenty-three." 

"That's not happily ever after." 

"What do you mean?" 

"They didn't work before. What makes you think they will now?" 

"He went back to her. That's why I think it'll work. He… he realised, after all that time, that it was her. It was always her." 

"No, no, no, no, no, Jack's told me stories. They were at each other's throats when they had to hide out. When Henley left, Danny didn't lift a finger to try to stop her." 

"Danny's pride is the size of an elephant. He probably couldn't admit how he felt." 

"I'm telling you, it's not going to last." 

"I don't care if it does or not. I'm done with him." 

"What do you mean?" 

"I mean I'm done. He's hurt me badly twice. He lied to me to get me into bed. The only thing left for him to do would be to cheat on me, which I'm 90% sure he did as soon as Henley came back, before he broke up with me." 

"Here's what I believe: Danny slept with you and then broke up with you. The cheating with Henley thing is something I can't prove. And I also believe that he still loves you." 

"That's stupid. If he loved me, he never would've hurt me like that." 

"Listen to the words coming out of my mouth: Danny. Loves. You. Maybe it was too hard for him to be with you but to not actually get to spend any facetime with you. Maybe he was worried that the distance would ruin your relationship, so he broke up with you so you could pick it up where you left off later." 

"But if he was really doing something noble why were you three hating on him so much?" 

"Because he's an idiot who needlessly hurt you. He had his reasons, but that doesn't make him any less of an asshole." 

"If you don't respect him, why are you trying to make me believe he loves me?" 

"Because he does! And when you think someone you love doesn't love you, it's heartbreaking. So I'm saving you the heartbreak because Danny loves you." 

"We're still not together." 

"The heartbreak didn't come from Danny. The heartbreak comes from you. When a guy you don't care about doesn't care about you, you don't care that he doesn't care about you. But when a guy you do care about doesn't care about you, it makes you doubt yourself. And that's recovery rule #1: don't doubt yourself. You're awesome Lily, and you need to see that."

I started crying again. Daniel helped me realize that. He made me think so highly of myself that I actually thought I deserved to be with him. And now, I felt lower than every, also because of Daniel. 

"Daniel does see how awesome you are. He does love you. And if The J. Daniel Atlas loves you, you can love yourself, too." 

"Then why is he with Henley?" 

"Because The J. Daniel Atlas is a jackass." Lula answered simply. Because really, that's all there was to it. 

"I hate him!" 

"I know, sweetie, we all do, too. We just pretend not to when he's around." 

Lula comforted me for a while before we started shots. It was the only time in my life I'd ever not stopped drinking when I got tipsy. Lula passed out, and I figured Jack would be nursing her hangover the next day, provided he didn’t have one, too.

As I was walking to my car that morning, I saw a figure leaning against it. I realised it was Daniel when I got closer. But it was my car, and I kind of needed to get to it, Atlas or no Atlas. 

"Hey, Lil." Daniel smiled when I was in earshot. 

"Hey, Danny. What're you doing here?" 

"I figured you wouldn't say goodbye. But I really couldn't handle that. I wanted to apologise again… for hurting you." 

"It's fine. I'm over it." 

"Then why are your eyes so puffy and red?" 

"It's the alcohol. Lula and I had a little too much fun last night, and this is part of a hangover." I lied. But I wasn't fooling anyone, certainly not a magician, who had a minor in deception with a masters in lying from Asshole University. 

"Please talk to me. I want to be sure you're okay." 

"I am. Seriously. I'm better off without you, Danny." I hopped in my car, being sure to keep the passenger door unlocked. Or at least I thought I did, until Daniel was in the seat next to me. Not that it surprised me.

"Don't say that. And don't call me Danny."

"What do you want then?" 

"Forgiveness. I did something horrible, and I hate myself for it." 

"It was horrible. And I hate you for it, too." 

"No, you've got it all wrong. I did leave you for Henley. But I meant every word I said that night. I care about you, Lil. I didn't trick you into sleeping with me. I genuinely felt everything I said I felt that night." 

"How can I believe that? How can I believe anything you say?" 

Great. I was on the verge of tears yet again. 

"I don't care how. I just need you to. I know it sounds like an unreasonable request, but the last thing I want is for you to feel used or violated, especially if I'm the one making you feel that way. I don't expect you to forgive me. I just want you to know that I meant everything I said that night, and I didn't lead you on. I fell for you. I just fell for Henley, too, and I chose her for compatibility."

This man was probably the worst thing in the world for me. Because no matter how I felt about him, he still had a hold on me. No matter how much he hurt me, no matter how much I hated him, I couldn't help but want to be with him. 

"Okay." I said, believing Daniel. "I'll believe you. I'm glad you felt the way you felt when we did it. But that doesn't change the fact that I did it with the wrong person. I was so stupid."

"I wasn't the wrong person at the time. But things change, and you can't know how they're going to change. If you could've predicted this, then you could blame yourself for doing it anyway. That's impossible, though. So don't hate anymore. Not me, not yourself, not Henley, not anyone." 

"I don't hate Henley. I never did. And I never will. I'm not her best friend, but I don't hate her. You made your choice. I may be stupid enough to sleep with you, but I'm not stupid enough to believe she stole you from me." 

"That's a start, I guess. Thanks for listening." Daniel put his arm around me and I let him pull me in for a quick hug. "I love you, Lil." 

Daniel got out of the car and I started crying because I loved him, too. I could sense how sincere he was. The one I really hated was myself, for not waiting. For being stupid enough to believe a man. A testosterone-for-brains jerk.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily is caught by the FBI, because they didn't take the Horsemen's truce. However, after the Horsemen set their newest plan into action, they save Lily and end their game of tag with the FBI. The Horsemen are free to roam around without fear of arrest. Just the fear of paparazzi. 
> 
> Daniel and Lily have their second intimate night together. After he explains everything, Lily forgives him under one condition. She's sick and tired of his shit, man, and I don't blame her. The amount of heartbreak this poor girl went through was kinda hard to write, even. But their happy ending finally happens! And as a reward for Lily being so patient and for her forgiveness, Daniel gives her a night she won't forget. 
> 
> I've run out of Holy Water to swim in. Uh-oh.

I continued that train of thought all the way home. But things were a little bit better. I didn't feel like a used paper towel Daniel threw away. I felt like Woody from Toy Story, who suffered through Andy choosing Buzz over him. Only this time, it would not end with Buzz and Woody becoming best friends and Andy loving them equally. No way. 

However, that still wasn't the worst part of my day. I arrived home to find a black car parked a couple houses down. I tried to drive away, but they recognized my car, and cut me off. I had nowhere to go, so I got out of the vehicle with my hands above my head. I wasn't surprised when FBI agents stepped out of their car pointing guns at me.

"Well, well, well. You make the, what, seventh Horsemen, is it now?" The agent asked. He was old with glasses and a bad attitude.

"I'm not a Horsemen." I said. "I don't know where any of them are. They've probably left the country by now." 

"That's okay. You're connected enough to them that you'll do." 

"Are you… are you taking me hostage? Are you using me as bait to catch the Horsemen?" 

"You're smart, kid. Now get in the car." 

I couldn't really argue with the guns, and I wasn't trained enough in magic to get away. 

About an hour later, Daniel got the news. 

"No, no, no, no, no, no, NO!" Daniel ran out of the living room into the kitchen shouting. 

"What? Did you fail at that trick again?" Jack laughed, and earned a snort from Merritt. 

"The FBI has Lily! They--they found a connection between her and us, and they have her! We have to go, we have to save her!" 

"Danny, relax." Dylan said. "The FBI won't do anything to Lily. And we will save her, don't you worry. She's not a Horsemen, but she's one of us. Merritt, supplies. Jack, transportation. Henley, get Alma on the phone. Lula, call the FBI and tell them we're on our way. Danny, you're with me. We're planning how to get her out of here. Retirement's over folks. They didn't take our truce nicely, so now it's time to make them." 

The Horsemen prepared themselves. They had an elaborate plan, and moved out four hours later. But this wasn't a break-Lily-out-of-the-FBI plan. This was a force-the-FBI-to-stop-chasing-us-and-give-us-back-Lily-plan. And it worked perfectly, just like majority of Dylan's shows do. And as soon as the FBI had agreed to the truce, Daniel was allowed to see me. 

"Lily, thank God!" Daniel hugged me like he'd never let go of me. He looked at me like I was the most important thing in his entire life. 

"Danny, wh--" 

"No. Not Danny. Daniel. Remember?" 

"Oh, I remember. But that's over. You left me for Henley. Remember?" 

"No, no, no, I didn't. I did not do that, it was fake. It was all a ruse to seem better in the eyes of the FBI. If we showed them we we're loving and compassionate people, they'd be more willing to accept our truce. Which they did. I'm free! We can finally be together! All the things I said that night were true, and now I'm going to own up to my promises."

"If you really are telling me the truth, why did you lie? Why didn't you just say 'For appearances, I have to pretend to date Henley'. You can't even begin to comprehend how much easier that would've been." 

"I didn't want you coming after me. You had already came to visit twice, and I wanted you as far away from me as possible. It was dangerous. We were still being tracked down by the FBI, and any connection to us would've put you at risk of being proven an accomplice, or worse, kidnapped again or even killed by one of our enemies."

"The FBI isn't a threat anymore. But the enemies still are. So why are you coming to me now, when it's still dangerous?"

"Our only real enemy, Tressler, was put behind bars New Years Eve. We're free! We can do anything we want to, go anywhere we want to. We can be together now. There's nothing standing between us anymore. I am so sorry for everything. I knew this day would come, but you didn't. It was extremely hard for me to watch your face as I told you I was with Henley. I can only imagine how hard it was for you, thinking I meant it. I'm so sorry. But nothing like this will ever happen again. I promise." 

I didn't know what to say. I wanted to believe him so fucking bad. I wanted to believe that he was forced to fake-break up with me, that he and Henley were never together, and they never would be. I wanted to believe that this was all someone else's idea, and that we could go back to the way things were that night. I wanted to believe in Daniel again, like I used to. But the first time I believed him, he hurt me. When I forgave him for that, and believed him a second time, he didn't just break my heart, he put it in a shredder. Did I really want to risk a third?

I looked into Daniel's eyes as I was trying to come up with an answer. He really did look at me like I was the most important thing in his entire life. He looked at me with such love. And even though Daniel has lied to me twice, I decided to give him another chance. 

"Daniel, listen--" 

"Thank God!" He beamed at me calling him the name I used to and took me in his arms for another bear hug. I couldn't help smile myself even though I was trying my hardest to be serious. 

"I said listen." I reminded him, and he did just that. "You're not in the magic wold anymore, right? No Eye, no Horsemen, no shows, no theft, no nothing, right?" 

"Right." 

"Twice, now, I've forgiven you because you were doing it for the sake of the Horsemen. But you no longer have that excuse. We're playing baseball, Daniel, and you've got two strikes. If we break up again, I'm moving on. I can only handle crying over you so many times. Three to be exact. So the next time you break my heart, you can't come back to me after I've picked up the pieces. You have one more chance with me. And then I'm done. Before I met you, I thought you were so, so, so much better than me. I thought I was unworthy of you. But by the time we slept together, you made me realise how great I am. I thought to myself 'If J. Daniel Atlas thinks I am so damn amazing, than I can think of myself as that amazing.'. And because I now know my own worth, I'm not going to stay in a relationship where I'm always being hurt and tricked, even if it is for the Horsemen. I'm not going to put myself through any more crap. Not even for you. Our relationship will have bumpy spots, but we're going to work through it. We're strong people, and we really love each other. And now that your job isn't to fool me anymore, I doubt there's anything that can break us up this time." 

"I get that. Probation was actually the best-case scenario. I imagined you… telling me you hated me… again… I imagined you telling me you didn't love me anymore. I imagined you telling me you didn't trust me. Majority of what I've been imagining since Dylan told me what I had to do ended in us walking away from each other again. And you don't know how glad I am that you chose one of the few scenarios where we're together. Thank you. I love you, Lily." 

"I love you, too." I smiled and hugged him a third time. "You know what the funniest part of this experience? Okay, the only funny part about this experience?" 

"There was a funny part?" 

"I know how to piss you off now." 

"Oh, you do, huh?" 

"Yeah, Danny." 

"Oh, come on!" 

I couldn't help but giggle. Daniel was free now. I wanted to start my life with him. I wanted to share my life that already existed with him, too. My family, friends, and town. But… was Daniel ready to meet my family?

"What's up. You look like you've got something on your mind." 

"Oh, no." I instinctively tried to change the subject. 

"You know I can tell when you're lying." 

"Well, I should hope so, that's your area of expertise." I snapped back. "Sorry… I would just rather keep this to myself. Okay?" 

"Okay. I get it. You just heard about my latest lie ten minutes or less ago, I get that you're not over it yet. But I was hoping we could still spend some time together." 

"Of course." I smiled and took his hand. We hopped into his car and drove to my favourite restaurant in town for supper. Daniel was right, I wasn't over his latest lie. After the way he made me feel, I looked at him differently. For the first time, I asked myself 'Is J. Daniel Atlas good enough for me?'. I answered it immediately. Of course he was. He was Daniel. I loved him. It was only the Eye that made him break up with me and break my heart. Daniel had a very hard time with it, too. "Does everyone else know this?" 

"They do." 

"Good, because when I came to Toronto that one time, all they could talk about was how horrible you were. They said they pretended to be nice to you when they were with you because they needed to work with you." 

"In reality, they were pretending to pretend to hate me so you wouldn't find out. They needed you away, too. They agreed with me that you were in danger." 

"My friends are all liars. And so is my boyfriend. Wonderful." 

"That stops now, though. The FBI is off our trail, Tressler is in jail, we're all safe. We can settle down now. There will be three, maybe four, but at least three weddings in the next five years, mark my words." 

"Oh? You're that confident." I laughed, completely joking. I saw a wedding in our future, too. 

Daniel stopped in his tracks and cocked an eyebrow at me. 

"I've been imagining how I was going to do this since the day I was told I would have to. I know I can drive you crazy. You know I can drive you crazy." Daniel suddenly changed his route. "Dinner plans have changed. We're having dessert first." 

I couldn't help but blush. Daniel opened my car door for my and took my hand, leading me to his hotel room. My heart had gradually started beating faster and faster from the moment we changed course to his hotel room. Daniel pushed me onto the bed and kissed me feverishly. I broke the kiss due to lack of breath, and Daniel moved to my neck. 

"I've missed you so much, Lil." Daniel whispered in my ear. "I thought of you every hour of every day." 

"I missed you, too, Daniel." I smiled. Then, I decided I'd get a little adventurous. I've only done it once, but I figured that I should have a little more of an active role in bed. I slid my hands up Daniel's shirt and ran my fingers along his chest and abs. "Oh, wow. Getting naughty already?" 

"Um… Yes…?" I clearly had no clue what I was doing. 

"Damn it, you're too cute for me to be sexy. And I thought you wanted me to be sexy." Daniel broke character and laughed. But he quickly resumed. "I didn't bring you here for you to touch me. I brought you here so I could touch you. Over the months we've been apart, you've forgotten just who you're dealing with here." 

Daniel kissed my neck as he took off my jeans and underwear. 

"This is my territory. You can go exploring another night. Try something like that again, and I might just have to tie you to this bed so you can't move no matter what I do to you." 

And, my throat was dry once again. 

"I will, however, let you make one request. What do you want me to do to you tonight?" Daniel swore he could feel the goose bumps he gave me from whispering dirty things in my ear.

I had to think about it. I enjoyed the request I made last time, but Daniel got nothing out of it. I mean, he did kind of owe me, but… I wasn't going to us it for that. 

"Time's up. Now I get to decide." 

Before I had the chance to ask him what he decided on, the first finger was hitting my sweet spot again. I relaxed, knowing he had nothing crazy planned, just what happened last time. Within a few minutes of hitting the spot over and over with a couple fingers added, I was ready, and Daniel was hard. 

"Are you ready?" 

"Yes." I exhaled. Part of me couldn't believe this was happening. A matter of hours ago, I thought he had lead me on just so he could sleep with me and then broken my heart, all intentionally. And now, I was letting him right back in without a second thought. Whenever I thought I had forgiven him too easily, I looked at him, and realised I no longer saw Daniel as the asshole who tricked me, used me, and broke me. He was the love of my life I was so lucky to have. When he broke up with me, I didn't sense that he had feelings for someone else. I could've not been thinking straight because I was upset, but I still didn't sense that his love for me had left.

See what a lie can do? It can turn someone from your boyfriend to the devil incarnate. And see what telling the truth can do? It can turn someone back from the devil into your boyfriend again. Lies are the real evil in the world. 

After the uncomfortable part, Daniel and I were both moaning. 

"Dan… Faster…" I panted. A couple seconds later, he complied. "Ah…! Ng….. Ha…."

Daniel drowned in my voice and got into a rhythm. He especially loved it when I called out Dan. A few minutes later, we were lying spent on the bed, me in his arms. Everything was back to the way it should be. 

"For the record, you're super sexy when you do that dominant act." I blushed, wanting him to know I liked it, but hating to actually say something so awkward out loud. 

"Act?" Dan cocked an eyebrow at me again. I loved it when he did that. 

"What, you mean to tell me that's how you always are in bed?" 

"It is. But I'm glad you like it. I'll keep it up. As long as you don't keep it down." 

I blushed again, embarrassed by how loud I was and the sheer number of times I called out Dan.

"Oh my God." I buried my face in the crook of his neck as he laughed. 

"Remember, I liked it. Isn't that what counts?" 

"Yeah. You're right."

"So, about your question from earlier." Daniel flashed me a cocky grin. "Wouldn't you say that is a good reason to be confident you'll say yes when I, eventually, pop the question?" 

"Two things: admitting you want to pop the question is already enough of a reason for me to lean towards yes. And the fact that I, someone who is extremely innocent, let you do that to me, should give you your answer." 

"Back to the first part. What?" 

"Admitting you want to pop the question means you're not afraid of the commitment, you love me, and you're serious about me. And sure, that'll scare guys away, but for most of us girls, it's close to a hook line and sinker. But only if you mean it. We can sense when you don't."

"So then why did you believe me so easily when I lied to you about Henley?" 

"Because I could sense your devastation. I could tell that you knew you were breaking my heart, and it just about broke yours to deliver the news. But I didn't sense that your feelings for me had changed, although I blamed that on the devestation." 

"I'm so sorry I had to do that. I want to make it up to you. What can I do?" 

"You can grow your hair back. I liked it the old way." I giggled. 

"That might take a while. And it might not look so good when it's coming back." 

"Ah, I can deal with it. I always wanted to run my hands through your hair. It really completed your look. But now you look more mature than before, which is hot in it's own way, but it makes me feel bad since I'm so much younger than you." 

"It's only five years." 

"Yeah, which means you were in school before I was born. You were walking, talking, learning, all while I was an egg." 

"Well, yeah. But when you're forty and I'm forty-five, it's not going to make much of a difference. We're just on the edge of when age matters, if not past that point. I mean, it doesn’t not matter anymore, but it matters a lot less." 

"Right." I laughed. I was so happy to be back in J. Daniel Atlas' arms. In Dan's.


	10. Happily Ever After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a cute little epilogue showing how everyone ended up. Showing all their Happily Ever Afters. 
> 
> My tenth work has ten chapters! Thought that was a cool thing to mention.

Daniel delivered on every promise he made me. He bought a house for us where I was going to school, and I finished my teaching degree. Less than a year later, I was Lula's maid of honour, and Daniel was Jack's best man. The Horsemen, past and present, were there, and it was a fun gathering. Merritt even met someone there. Two years after that, Dylan and Alma were married. The only reason they weren't married earlier is, between the proposal and the wedding, Alma got pregnant, and they wanted to wait. We attended the ceremony, and their new daughter was the flower girl. It was a beautiful wedding, and the sightseeing was a fun added bonus! Daniel and I brought a lock with us and visited that bridge where people lock up secrets and seal promises, throwing the key into the water. That's where Daniel proposed to me, in the most romantic way possible. Our lock was an early promise to forget the pain of the past and to focus on the bright, happy future. Lula and Henley were my bridesmaids, but my sister was my Maid of Honour. Jack, Merritt, and Dylan made up Daniel's groomsmen. 

I had seen many looks from J. Daniel Atlas. Looks of surprise, of sadness, of relief, of fear, of happiness. But the one he gave me as I walked down the aisle in a white dress he'd never seen was amazing. Our vows had a lot of inside jokes and things that only the Horsemen would ever understand. And as Daniel was told to kiss the bride, fireworks shot from Cinderella Castle, which we were standing in front of. 

"And this is what I call a happy ending." I smiled as I held my new husband's hand at the reception. 

"Well, Mrs. Atlas, I'd beg to differ. It's actually just the beginning. 

And as per usual, J. Daniel Atlas was right. Ten years after our wedding, we had four children. A son, a daughter, another son, and another daughter. Their names were Brock, Casey, Killian, and Julie. Brock took an immediate interest in magic. Soon enough, he was sneaking chips and pop past bedtime without our knowledge. Casey was more like me, and dreamed things instead of doing them like Brock. I showed her some of my favourite books, and the next thing we knew, she was using our mixing bowls and spoons for potions class at Hogwarts. Killian was an adventurer. He didn't just like to read stories, he like to live them! He'd be home at dark after roaming out in the forest we had beside our country house. And Julie, she was our realist. Julie loved to help, and when she grew up, she volunteered all over the place. At events in the nearest town, at school for things like hall monitor, and the older she got, the larger her commitments became. She grew up to go into politics and won an election to be our province's premier. We ended up staying in Ontario, by the way. Killian grew up to work in the savannas of Africa on a wildlife preserve, getting to work with wild animals and explore the wild. We miss him, but he's happy, and that's what matters. Casey became a writer, and wrote some of the most popular books since Harry Potter, which was always her goal. Her stories all came with a happily ever after. Brock used Daniel's connections to get him into the magic world. Although, with how talented he was, he really wouldn't have needed it at all. I was so afraid he would be scouted by the Eye, and that he would end up running from the law like his father. But when the call from the Eye came, Brock didn't just take it. No matter how corrupt of a victim the Eye had, Brock refused to do anything that involved breaking the law. And when a plan finally came without law breaking, Brock was still skeptical and ran it by Daniel. With both of their minds together, everything worked out for Brock. He ended up rising to the top of the Eye, and becoming just as famous, if not more famous, than the Four Horsemen. Surprisingly, Brock was the last of our children to settle down. We thought he'd be first since he was the eldest, but once he joined the Eye, we knew he'd be last. 

Daniel and I really did live happily ever after.


End file.
